All flights in and out of the Srinagar airport were halted on Thursday afternoon after two rear tyres of an Air India (AI) flight exploded during landing, AI sources at the Srinagar airport told International Business Times, India. The chartered flight, which had 144 people on board, was ferrying Border Security Force (BSF) personnel from Jammu to Srinagar, and was scheduled to go onward to Delhi, the source said.
The AI source told IBTimes India the chartered flight, numbered AI 3821, was landing at the airport at around 2 p.m. on Thursday, June 30, when two tires on the rear, and on the same side, burst. The passengers and the crew had a close shave, and escaped unhurt despite the rough landing, the source said.
He also said the AI plane had come to halt at such an angle that it had led to the halting of hall flights landing at or taking off from the Srinagar airport. "When service resumes will become clear only after 5 p.m.," he told IBTimes India. It was also then that the AI would plan a fresh flight for the stranded BSF personnel to be taken to Delhi, as had been scheduled.
In the meanwhile, a big chunk of the AI staff at the airport were ssaid to be on the tarmac, assessing the situation and addressing the matter.
This is the second time this week that an Air India flight has hit a snag. An AI international flight, bound for Kual Lumpur, had on Tuesday, June 28 had to land soon after take off as it was hit by a technical snag.
The emergency landing of the Airbus 320, carrying 157 people on board, happened at the Tiruchi airport late on Tuesday afternoon, according to a report in the Hindu.
